


Summer Professor: Risky, Entirely Unimaginable

by PinkCripps



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Age Difference, Character(s) of Color, F/M, Snape x OC - 16 yrs, Summer Vibes, tagged underage just in case
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:47:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26647753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkCripps/pseuds/PinkCripps
Summary: Summer of 1991. Adina is just a teenager working at a beach-side bookstore when she finds herself intrigued by the imposing man in all black there. She thinks nothing much of it.However, Severus Snape does not act as expected.(Snape x OC - 16 yrs)
Relationships: Severus Snape/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 27





	Summer Professor: Risky, Entirely Unimaginable

**Author's Note:**

>   
>    
> 
> 
> Complete and utter wish fulfillment, borne of a daydream had while laying in the sun. Enjoy. =) 

Adina kicked her way along the boardwalk, chocolate brown legs greedily absorbing the morning sun. Surprisingly, her parents did end up letting her walk to work alone.

Though maybe not surprising, given the fuss her older brother had put up about it that first week. He had argued viciously, claiming that she didn’t need protection just because she was a girl, that soon enough she would need to learn how to fend alone in this world anyway.

Most importantly, her work schedule coincided with the time he played basketball with his friends.

Adina gave a little amused huff and turned her face to the beach breeze, grateful for the solitude.

Not that she didn’t appreciate her parents trying to protect her. She knew that there were plenty of dangerous people out there, especially in a moderately busy vacation spot like this. Her parents had scared her with all the typical stories of girls kidnapped and hurt and more.

It was just, Adina had lived about as safe and pampered a life a fifteen-year-old girl could live. She knew it. Her family had been coming here to their vacation home every summer several years now, and nothing had ever happened.

The concept of danger and pain to her was dry, intellectual knowledge, with no real feeling behind it. And she didn’t think that would change soon.

Adina’s bookstore came in sight, and she stopped in her tracks.

For standing in front of the store was a man, shrouded in black from head to toe.

Her manner went from easy and haphazard to tense in an instant.

Mummy had told her to always trust her instincts. So she loitered at the boardwalk’s edge to observe the man from a distance, seeing that he had not spotted her yet.

What Adina saw was not reassuring. Mr. Dark and Imposing appeared to be in his thirties, maybe forties. Though in the heat of summer, he was fully covered in a black dress shirt and pants. He was tall, and scowling into the horizon.

Even from a distance, she could tell he was not a person to be trifled with.

Adina was, despite herself, intrigued.

Now that she paused to think, she wondered at the irrational fear she had felt at the sight of a man who just standing there. He wasn’t doing anything. He was just another person, like one of the people she had passed on the boardwalk.

It was broad daylight, out in the open, and the occasional other person still roamed the boardwalk. She felt safe enough approaching him. She sent up a prayer to God and began walking.

Of course, then an entirely new problem emerged. As she strode toward the shop, her palms became sweaty from nervousness. She _hated_ talking to strangers. What was she going to say?

_Treat him like a customer. Treat him like a customer._

His head snapped to her form as Adina approached. She fumbled at the sight of dark, condescending eyes, but managed to get out, “H-hello, sir—“

“I was wondering when you would stop gawking and actually approach me.”

She darkened in mortification. Everything had gone wrong in about three seconds. She stood there awkwardly, straining to remember what she wanted to say.

She needn’t have spent the effort. The man continued. “When exactly does this...establishment,” he drawled, making it sound like an insult, “open?“

“Ah, ten o’clock, sir,” she replied, grateful that the question only required a straight answer.

“I see,” he said in a manner that indicated he did not see. “You may go on, then.”

“Yes, okay,” she said, wondering faintly when she had lost all command of the conversation.

She took a step towards the door, began fumbling with the keys, then paused and turned around. “Sir, are you just going to stand there?”

“I will stand here as long as it takes.”

“It’s quarter till,” she pointed out uncomfortably.

“It is.”

“...do you want to come in?”

His smile was predatory. “You are most gracious.”

* * *

Adina closed the store door behind her, and only when she turned around did she realize her mistake.

She had gone from open and public to closed and alone with the stranger.

She stared up at the man, a strange apprehension filling her veins.

He seemed to loom over her, or was that just Adina’s anxiety shading her perception? _Oh my._ He definitely was much older than her.

They stood there a quiet, tense moment, dust catching in the mid-morning sun.

He must have read the trepidation in her eyes, for he snarled, “Silly girl, I am not interested in harming you. Go do your job.”

His voice exhilarated her. Then she registered her words and scurried away, relieved to be away from the man.

By the time Adina officially opened the shop, she was fuming at the figure reading unobtrusively in a far corner.

_Long-haired hippie weirdo, can’t sense social cues._

But truthfully, he seemed about the furthest thing from a hippie. He had a refined manner and way of speaking that would have put the queen to shame. Respect and awe practically rammed into her at the sight of him.

And concerning the social cues, she got the feeling it wasn’t that he couldn’t sense them. It was more he did, and summarily trampled over them.

Adina knew she wouldn’t have it in her to be so inconsiderate. Apparently, Dark and Imposing had no scruples himself—most infuriating.

If she were honest, however, she was mostly mad at herself for acting like such a spineless idiot.

_He didn’t even ask to come in. He just stared at you and you invited him._

The store door jangled open. “Yo, Adina, sorry I’m late!” came a shout.

It was Vicky, her work partner. Vicky was—not someone her parents would approve of. She wore short shorts, lived with her boyfriend, and had a tattoo on her stomach. And she was _always_ late.

The twenty-something-year-old tromped over to where Adina was standing.

“Damn—dang, and a customer got here before me,” she noted none too quietly. “New low, even for me, heh.”

“Indeed,” Adina replied curtly, then felt bad for being so rude. “But to be fair, he was here before me too. Just waiting outside shop. Before it even opened.”

“Freaky. Who goes to a bookstore that early in the morning, and over the beach too?”

Adina went stiff and tried to not too obviously glance at the man in question, who she knew saw more than he let on.

Vicky, mistaking her behavior, hurried to assure her, “Hey, just joking kid. Books are great. I just don’t see the appeal you see. Goes to show how much smarter you are than me.” She grinned ruefully.

“Um,” Adina said eloquently, because she still didn’t know how to respond to compliments, especially not when sweating a mix of panic and humiliation.

Her colleague didn’t seem to mind, strolling away to take her position at the counter.

That left Adina alone, blushing her embarrassment. And then questioning why she cared so much for the opinion of a man she didn’t even know.

She huffed, then walked away to restock shelves.

* * *

Adina sighed in relaxation, soaking in the beach sun.

“Adina, sugar, can you hand me a cola?”

She gave a groan that wasn’t entirely exaggerated, but got up anyway.

“Here, Mummy. Great, now I don’t feel like laying down anymore.”

“Thank you, darling,” her mother replied, neatly ignoring the second part of her statement.

Adina rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the ocean. It was a postcard-perfect summer’s day. The sand and sea sparkled, as if God had littered the whole earth with small diamonds.

She closed her eyes and inhaled as a refreshing breeze swept her dark hair. Maybe she should take Gracie and explore the beach a bit. Or rather, stroll along the completely familiar area.

She would use the word “explore” instead of “stroll” with Gracie.

Adina found her little sister sitting near the shore, morphing the sand into some mystifying creation. Her eyes lit up at Adina’s suggestion.

“Yeah! Let’s go!” Gracie beamed, showcasing the gap in her teeth.

After telling their parents where they were headed, they set off along the shore. Adina reached for her sister’s hand, but Gracie shook it off and ran ahead.

“Hey Adina, do you want to watch me do this?”

“What, Gracie?” she humored.

The child promptly did a cartwheel, or her version of one, which more closely resembled a dog chasing its tail.

“Fascinating, Gracie. Hey look, there’s the ice cream shop. Daddy gave us money. Let’s get something.”

“But I don’t want ice cream,” Gracie whined.

Adina shrugged. “Well I do. C’mon.”

“No, let’s go to the bakery.”

“That’s—we’re not walking that far, that’s on the other side—“

Her sentence was interrupted by burglars alarms going off, and then a shriek.

Adina whipped her head towards the source of the noise and caught a strange flash of purple light.

_What?_

No one else seemed to have reacted to the commotion. The crowd seemed to brush it off as some typical city noise, something that didn’t concern them.

Not Adina. An inexplicable foreboding swept through her, certain as the sun in the sky.

She didn’t take much time to ponder what was going on.She grabbed Gracie’s hand, not giving her a chance to shake it off this time, and sprinted all the way back towards her parents.

Adina searched for her father’s wavy black hair and her mother’s coffee-brown skin.

“Daddy!” Adina exclaimed, relieved at the familiar sight of her father playing catch with her brothers.

“Adina? Did something happen?” he answered, concern etched on his face at her flustered demeanor.

“I-“ she started, then stopped. How did she explain what she had felt, when she hardly understood it herself?

“Sugar?”

“Some burglar alarm went off. I got scared,” she mumbled. That was the truth. She hated how weak it made her sound.

“Are you sure that’s all?” Adina nodded. “It was good you came. What’s that Gracie? You want to go to the bakery? Who else wants to come to the bakery with me and Gracie?”

Adina excused herself to stay with Mummy while the rest of her family went to buy sweets. She didn’t feel much like eating.

* * *

Adina jammed the key in the slot, shivering in the torrential rain.She reminded herself that she got this job so her parents wouldn’t force her to study as much this summer. _Your brothers have to do twice the studying you do now._

At the moment though, that didn’t seem so unappealing.

She slammed the door behind her, lamenting her lack of an umbrella, and sighed. She had to open shop.

Adina observed as the weather slowly cleared over the day. The rain lightened. Cracks became visible in a blanket of grey. Bold sun rays burst through dark clouds.

By afternoon, the weather was almost pleasant, and she was finally completely dry.

Adina was sorting through books when the store bell jingled once more. Adina looked up in reflex and watched with a mix of delight and dread as the same mysterious man from last week walked into the bookstore.

“Him again?” Vicky grumbled next to her. “It looks like he’s gonna become a regular. Hasn’t bought anything yet.”

“Does he come here often?” Adina asked, taking care not to sound too curious.

Vicky obliged her anyway with a barge of thoughts and words. “He has the last two times I’ve worked. I feel kind of bad. Haven’t seen him with anyone else yet. He must be lonely. Single, you think? Yeah, definitely—he keeps wearing all black. I mean, even if he does like reading, what kind of man spends so much time in a bookshop at the beach?”

 _What kind of man indeed_ Adina wondered. Which reminded her of other mysterious events.

Vicky was well-versed in gossip, which was something Adina tended to stay out of. But it could prove useful in some cases.

Adina picked up her stack of books and walked to the shelves, resorting back the merchandise. When she walked back, she trailed her fingers along the spines.

She walked all the way back to Vicky, gave her a glance from the side, then started, “So...did you hear about yesterday?”

“I’ve heard a lot of things about yesterday,” Vicky replied giving Adina her own sideways glance.

“Oh, yeah, uh, I meant, like, the robbery? I was at the beach and I saw an alarm go off. Or something.”

“The robbery? You mean Mrs. Duskin at the jewelry shop?”

“That’s it I think,” Adina nodded eagerly.

Apparently too eagerly. Her work partner gave a mischievous smirk. “Well, I wouldn’t want to gossip—you and I both know gossiping is no good.”

“Wh-Vicky!” Adina exclaimed in an undertone at the other girl’s deliberate hypocrisy. “C’mon, Vicky, what happened?”

“No can say, girlie. I cannot corrupt you with such sin.” Vicky arranged her face in fake anguish “You’re still so young.”

“You can tell me, please,” Adina nagged. When this only caused Vicky to turn away, she said in a slightly louder tone, “C’mon, what about the purple flash?”

This got a reaction, though not the one Adina wanted. “Purple flash? That’s interesting, thanks for telling me.”

When it became apparent Vicky would not continue, Adina rolled her eyes in exasperation and not quite stomped away. She hadn’t wanted to know that badly in the first place, but Vicky’s refusal to tell her had grated.

She pushed away the annoyance. Only then she realized she didn’t have any reason to go where she was headed.

She continued walking anyway, if only to avoid the awkwardness, and tried her hardest to seem as if she had something to do.

She stumbled into the science section and pretended to reorganize the books. There was no need. No one ever went into the science section.

“Miss,” came a deep voice from beside her, “if you would point me to any books on optics?”

Adina pulled away from the shelves hurriedly. It was Dark and Imposing. “Oh, yes sir, they’re just further down this aisle.” She pointed.

The man nodded. He moved past her, then paused and twisted half towards her. “I also have been trying to discern the source of that strange light at yesterday’s commotion.”

“You saw it too?” she blurted before she could think better of it.

“Yes, I did. Would you happen to know anything about that light?”

The question made her pause for some reason, though it had been asked in a perfectly innocuous way.

“No,” she answered, “I was far away, and I wasn’t sure I’d seen right at all.”

“Hmm,” he said noncommittally. Adina did not notice it, but the man allowed his hand to fall away from his pocket. “Thank you anyway.”

He walked away, and Adina stared at his back, wanting to say something. But she waited too long and the moment had passed, so she headed into the next aisle to pretend to reorganize books there.

It hit her then while placing down a book on Egyptian history that the man must have been eavesdropping on her conversation.

Adina knew she should have felt this creepy, or at least mildly disturbing. But all it did was send a peculiar little thrill through her.

Well, it was pretty quiet in a bookshop, and Adina had been pretty loud toward the end. Maybe the man hadn’t been able to help overhearing.

Still, it was curious that he had been researching the very same thing Adina had been asking about.

Adina fidgeted her thumbs together, considering. Yes, it was definitely very curious. In fact, it was so curious Adina should ask the man about it.

Her heart quickened nervously at the thought. She spent the rest of her time mentally preparing herself for the conversation, knowing that otherwise, she would cop out. Gosh, she wished she were a little bolder sometimes.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the man heading for the door. Adina rushed up behind him and tapped on his sleeve.

The man pulled away like burned and proceeded to glower at her.

Adina took a breath, rehearsing the sentence in her mind once more. “Excuse me, sir. May I ask why you too were interested in that purple light. Um, from yesterday?”

The man seemed to calculate something for the smallest second, then exhale. “I am...a professor. Simple academic interest.” He opened the door. “Now get out of my way.”

Adina didn’t have a rehearsed reply to that, so she allowed the Professor to stride away, long legs quickly making him just a spot on the boardwalk.

She learned later that the crime had just been some simple vandalism, strange snake and skull motifs. And Mrs. Duskin said she had never seen a purple light.

* * *

The rest of that summer settled into a familiar routine of sun, sand, and dusty bookshop.

Adina spent lazy hours simply gazing at clouds on the beach or ambling along the boardwalk with her family. But unexpectedly enough, her two work days became the highlight of her week.

She had noticed _it_ almost immediately. Adina had a stupid rabbit heart that sped up for the smallest things: ordering ice cream, talking to strangers, talking to _people_.

So it wasn’t strange in of itself when her heart beat a little louder when she was around the man. It might appear to be no different for anyone else.

Except, Adina could tell, it slightly was.

She peeked once more at the Professor, who was reading in his typical secluded corner.

He was there more days than not, with his dumb hair that fell gracefully along his face, and dumb dark eyes that glittered in low light, and dumb black clothing that excited her—

He shifted and Adina looked away, heart skipping in that slightly different way.

She had noticed it almost immediately; she had a crush on the Professor.

That she didn’t even know him was apparently no barrier to Adina’s emotions. He simply captivated her in a way that could not be explained, only understood. There was something about his presence, in the quiet, stiff way he held himself and his intense demeanor. It was the cliche of cliches, but he was...mysterious.

Adina silently crept away from the spot. She had no delusions. He was a man, and she was a girl. That anything would happen between them was not even considered. It simply was not in the realm of possibility.

In a way though, the fact that it was impossible made it feel safe. There was no blooming hope with the possibility of being crushed, no agonizing over returned affections.

It was a harmless teenage crush from afar. And Adina was okay with that: she preferred it almost.

She huffed in wry amusement. It was fun to fantasize, however.

She imagined a dark and starry night, and a man with eyes to match. A single candle would illuminate their forms on the rooftop as the sound of people milling around the boardwalk below them drifted up.

He would advance then, dressed in his typical all-black ensemble, and she in a flared, sweet summer dress.

She would hold her breath in wonder as he slid one hand behind her shoulder and used the other hand to hold hers. They would dance the basic waltz. His gaze would consume hers.

Then, she would inhale when she realized his arm had slowly migrated to her waist, and she had somehow been pulled flush against his chest.

_Warm sea breeze against her skin, and a dangerous man in her arms._

She would look up, wide-eyed.

“Miss...” he would whisper in return. Then...

Adina giggled. She should probably stop. For some reason, she always felt uneasy daydreaming in the presence of the man. It was irrational; it wasn’t as if he could read minds. But she’d rather not do it nevertheless. It was just bad form to fantasize about someone while they were in the same room.

Oh god. Same room, _same aisle_ —the Professor was walking towards her. And he was carrying a book on...music theory?

Adina played piano! Did the Professor play an instrument too?

She liked the idea. She could ask and confirm it. She could start up a conversation. It was apparent the man was bored and looking for something else to read, so she probably wouldn’t be bothering him.

The man stopped a few feet away from her, considering the books on the shelf.

Adina took a step toward him, sweating. She looked over her shoulder, back at the man, and took a step to the side.

Then she panicked and ran away, head bowed down between her shoulders.

“ _That was stupid, Adina,_ ” she berated herself, frustrated. “ _Why’d you run away? You only had to talk to him. You only had to open your mouth and say words_.”

She sulked all the way to the registers. Unfortunately, she had returned to Vicky with her thoughts written all over her face.

“Adina? What’s up?” the older girl inquired.

Adina wanted to reply “nothing,” but instead what came out of her mouth was, “You have to promise not to tell, Vicky.”

Vicky’s expression immediately went from somewhat concerned to salacious. “Oh, this is great. You, miss goody-two-shoes, have a dirty secret?”

Adina considered. Should she tell Vicky about her crush on the Professor?

Logic told her no, there was no reason to. It could only be a bad idea.

But there was that guilty desire to share her secret, to simply confide in someone.

She hesitated, then realized she was making a big deal out of nothing.

“You know the man that comes in here every other day?” she whispered, leaning in. Adina smirked. Maybe she could shock her work partner.

“Yeah, yeah?”

“I have a crush on him.”

Vicky’s smile became strained. “Um, wow, that’s...surprising.”

“Oh. Is it?” Adina asked in a small voice. “Yeah, um, I guess it is but there’s just something about him—“

“He’s kinda old, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, that’s kinda what I like,”she said defensively. She had wanted Vicky to react, but somehow she hadn’t anticipated feeling self-conscious because of it.

At Adina’s proclamation, Vicky leaned away and hid a cringe. “That’s—I see. Adina, he hasn’t...done anything, has he? Flirted with you, or did anything that made you think...”

“What? No!” Adina yelped in offense. “And that’s the truth.”

Vicky patted her on the arm. “Of course. As long as you know it’s illegal, bud.” The girl gave her a wink, now recovering. “I had no idea you were so kinky, though.”

Adina buried her burning face in her hands, marching away. “Not kinky! I’m leaving.”

She more felt than saw half the store’s patrons look up at the word “kinky.”

...It was almost six. Vicky would be fine closing shop on her own.

Adina lay awake in bed later that day, plagued by all the day’s regrets and embarrassments long into the humid night.

* * *

Adina lay sprawled in a sunny nook by the bookshop window. She leaned her head against the frosted glass, idly watching blurred shapes move outside. Her book was flopped carelessly on her knees, forgotten in favor of forgetting everything and thinking nothing and looking at dust move through the sun.

It was perfect. It was summer.

It was nearing the end of August. Soon, her family would move back to their house up north and she would return to school.

Strangely enough, this was the first summer the thought made her feel dread rather than excitement.

Adina shook her head, not wanting to ruin one of her lazy bookshop moments. They were the best parts of working here.

Her eyes wandered to a black figure not far from her. Well, maybe one of the best parts.

If she admitted it, he was the real reason she didn’t want summer to end.

Adina allowed herself a few more relaxed moments in the sun before she pushed herself up. Her skin prickled from the sudden loss of warmth as she went to return her book.

Adina noticed movement from the corner of her eye. When she turned, her work partner was glancing anxiously at the clock once more.

That’s right; Vicky had a date with her boyfriend today.

Adina recalled guiltily the day she had run out on the older girl, abandoning her to work the last part of her shift alone. Maybe she could make it up to her now.

“Hey Vicky,” she greeted. “You can leave early today if you want. Consider it sorry for leaving early the other week.”

“Shi-wow! Adina, don’t scare me like that!” Then she registered what Adina had said. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah, really. It’s only half an hour.”

“I— _thanks_ , Adina. Really.” Vicky was already picking up her purse and walking towards the door. Then she paused. “This is our last time working together, isn’t it? You’re leaving in a week?”

Adina nodded sadly.

“Goodbye, bud. You’re a good sort, you know that? Too nice for your own good.” The store bell jangled, and Vicky shouted as she left, “Oh, and happy belated birthday!”

The door was closed by the time Adina returned the farewell. She shook her head in amusement.

She and Vicky weren’t close friends by any means. But saying goodbye to the woman had left her feeling hollow.

Adina felt everything was ending too soon, going away too quickly. Like beach sand flowing through her hands.

The now-empty shop only echoed back her own feelings.

Wait—it was not completely empty; Adina shifted to the right to view the Professor still absorbed in the old book he had brought.

Adina realized she was, once again, alone with the man. It was reminiscent of her first encounter with him. How fitting that their last encounter was ending the same way. Poetic, even.

Adina was restless. The feeling of possibilities being cut short crested over her even more strongly. She had to do _something_.

Shop closed in a little less than half an hour. If no one came in during that time, she would take it as a sign.

Lo and behold, the minutes past, people hurried by the door outside, and the shop remained vacant.

The clock struck 6. It felt like a signal. It was a signal.

Strangely calm, Adina made her way over to the man. She opened her mouth.

“Sir, the shop is closing now. If you would please leave?”

He gave her a disgruntled look, but moved to pick up his book from the table. Adina desperately attempted to locate her courage.

She was sixteen. She should be allowed to live out some teenage fantasy. (She had so little chance to)(would this end up being something she’d regret forever?)

“You know, this is my last day working here.” The Professor turned toward her at the apparent non-sequitur. Her head grew dizzy with adrenaline.

“I’ll miss seeing you.” Slowly, she reached out a hand and trailed it lightly over his chest. His buttons were metal. “You were always my favorite customer.”

Adina pulled away. The Professor stared at her mutely, shock evident on his face. She didn’t think she’d ever seen him so animated.

She smiled sadly and turned around. It was time for her to escape.

But then a hand caught her wrist.

The hand pulled, and she was forcibly spun around until she was inches away from agitated black eyes.

She gulped.

“You flirt with me. Why?” questioned the man intensely. Adina’s heart stuttered in her chest.

She was fairly sure this wasn’t supposed to happen.

That did not keep her from blurting the truth in surprise: “Surely you’ve realized by now...that I have the hugest crush on you.”

The man inhaled sharply and tightened his grip on her wrist.

This was bad, so bad. But Adina was frozen where she stood, staring hopelessly down at the dark man seated in front of her

“A, crush?” The man repeated, as if he had never heard the word before. “Is that so, Little Miss?” Adina could feel his breath on her lips.

“It is,” Adina whispered.

The Professor tilted his head up and stole her first kiss.

Her mind whirled as the world flipped upside down.

Though his lips were cold and still at first, they sent a tingle through her whole body. Gradually, his mouth began to work under hers. Adina gawked at the man, whose face was creased in what could be concentration or pain.

_My first romantic encounter not even with a boy he’s a man oh my god a man this is risky, entirely unimaginable—_

Suddenly, he bit her lower lip, and Adina gasped in surprise. The Professor used the opportunity to gain access to her mouth.

Her thighs bumped into the inside of his open legs, and she started in surprise

The man tore himself away, face flushed and mouth parted—utterly enchanting. _Do I look like that too?_ She wondered faintly. It would explain why he was examining her so fervidly.

“You are a distraction,” he rumbled, looking to the side. “They’re still here.”

“Sir...?”

The store door jangled open.

They jerked away from each other, exactly like people caught doing something they shouldn’t.

“Hello?” Came the voice of her younger brother.

The Professor rose up in front of her, and the cover of cold aloof man was drawn back in place. “I will be on my way.”

He shoved past her brother and flew out of the shop.

The pre-teen turned his head back from the door to her. “Daddy wanted me to walk you home. Said there’s been a rise in petty crime here.”

“I—okay. Um, let's go.”

They stepped onto the boardwalk and made their way west. The evening sun glared into their eyes.

“Adina? Who was that?”

“Huh? Oh, I was just asking him to leave because shop was closing.” Because she could lie when she had to.

“Hm.”

Her brother didn’t say anything else the rest of the walk to the house, but Adina didn’t allow herself to think about it until she locked herself in her room, wrapped in blankets and huddled on her bed.

Her fingers wandered up to her lips.

_What just happened?_

Her summer was not over just yet.

* * *

Adina kicked her way along the boardwalk, chocolate brown legs this time reflecting in the evening light.

Her family would be leaving town tonight. Everything had been packed and loaded in the car, and now they were enjoying their last hours at the beach town.

Her brothers were playing basketball with some other boys in town. Gracie was with her parents, probably giving them a handful.

And that left Adina alone.

It was by choice though. Mummy thought she’d stay safe with her brothers, and her brothers thought she’d be fine walking around the beach nearby.

She was, instead, on the other side of town.

She was on the same side of town as her bookstore.

Adina simply wished she could see _him_ one last time before she left.

She wasn’t delusional; realistically she knew he wouldn’t be there. It was two hours past closing time. Even if he had visited today, he would be long gone, not loitering around the shop.

Still, logic did not stop her from feeling disappointed when she reached the store and was not met with any conspicuous black figures nearby.

She went to the boardwalk railing in resignation and leaned on her arm, feeling an awful lot like Charlie Brown.

She sighed.

...The sunset really was beautiful. The sky had started to tinge with hues of pink and yellow. The clouds looked like cotton candy, and the sea glittered below it like sugar.

Adina began to amble her way back home, a little more content than when she left it.

That’s when she saw the Professor, hands in his pocket, walking along the boardwalk like a normal person.

Adina had a mini heart attack at the sight. _He’s seen me, he’s walking faster now—to get to me faster, or get away from me faster?_

Adina decided to remedy this dilemma by greeting him at a still-awkward distance.

He responded by scowling and coming to a reasonable, not-awkward distance away. “You foolish—it is no use now pretending I don’t know you. What is it you deemed important enough to bother me about?”

Oh. Trying to get away, then.

“Just wanted to say hi. Don’t let me bother you, though,” she responded, trying her best to keep the hurt and annoyance from slipping out her voice.

He gave her an unimpressed look in return, like her feelings were stupid. Never mind they were stupid. He didn’t seem the slightest bit repentant that he had wounded her.

“I’ll be on my way, then,” she mumbled, desperate to make a quick getaway. But the man continued to talk.

“You are alone?”

“Um...” Adina hesitated, not sure she should disclose such information to the man, but also not seeing a way to hide it. “I’m just heading home.”

He seemed to struggle with himself, looking at their surroundings, then her. He leaned in. “It is...not safe, at the moment. Allow me to walk you there,” he offered stiffly.

What? Now Adina was confused. “That’s awfully nice of you, b—“

“Then let us be on our way.” He offered his arm to her with a pointed look.

There it was again, that trampling of social cues. She was tempted to say no just to spite him.

But that would be mean. And Adina couldn’t deny that she too could feel something strange in the air. Hadn’t the Professor seemed to be watching for something before she had interrupted him?

(This was ridiculous. Adina had only started to get these weird feelings of foreboding after meeting the man.)

Adina gingerly clung onto his proffered arm, and they began walking down the boardwalk.

They traveled west, the sunset in full view in front of them. Other couples strolled around them, their laughter blending into the sound of waves cresting against the shore. It was positively romantic.

She gave unsure glances up at the Professor’s face, but the man stared determinedly ahead.

She did not understand him. He kissed her, then expressed disgust at being in her company, then offered to stay longer in her company, all the while remaining cold and silent. It was perplexing.

Adina slowly trailed her fingers up from their place on the man’s arm, but he did not visibly react. She squeezed his bicep harder, but only when she turned her head to his shoulder and breathed deeply did he flinch.

“What are you doing?” he hissed

“What are _you_ doing? You kissed me,” she whispered in return, almost an accusation.

“You had confessed to having a crush on me. It seemed the logical procession,” he sniped.

Adina floundered. It was a perfectly sensible statement. She just knew there was some sort of glaring fault with it, though she wasn’t sure what.

“But you’re a Professor. Hasn’t one of your students ever, um, approached you?” she asked.

“Only in order to receive a better grade,” he replied caustically.

“Oh,” Adina said, wondering why she hadn’t thought of the obvious implications. It was clear from his tone he turned those kinds of students away.

Adina steered them off the boardwalk onto a residential street near her home. She fidgeted more with her Professor’s sleeve before questioning boldly.

“Why kiss me, then? I’m just as young as your students. Younger, even.” When he kept silent, she persisted, “What is a forty-year-old man—“

“ _I’m thirty-one_ ,” he gritted.

Adina’s first thought was “only thirty?”, then annoyance at herself because that was not a reasonable thought at all.

“Still, this is so wrong.”

“I know it is wrong,” he snapped, pushing her off his arm. “I noticed the sideways looks we got on the street.”

Sideways looks? Had they been getting looks? Adina heated in embarrassment.

“You had just been another unassuming girl,” he continued derisively. “Until you expressed your affection.”

Adina gulped. “Then what?”

He turned to her with anguished eyes. “How was I to know it would affect me so? I’ve never—“ he cut himself short.

It was enough for Adina. The thought formed like lightning. “Was that the first time someone said—was I the first—?” she breathed.

She only realized how heated his voice had been before when it abruptly returned to being cool. “It was the first time something of that nature had happened, yes. Usually people have an ulterior motive. Is this your home?”

She had been turning onto the walkway to her backyard without even realizing it. “I-um, yes.”

“Can you get—“

“We leave the back door unlocked,” she interrupted nervously.

“Unbelievable,” Adina heard him mutter. She hooked her hands to the top of the fence, and he made a noise. “You’re going to climb?”

“Yeah, I do it all the time.”

“You are wearing a dress,” he pointed out uncomfortably.

“Uh, well...” Adina said, not sure how to respond. It was her favorite dress. She had worn it with him in mind. It was a soft yellow that complimented her skin.

The Professor once again muttered impatiently under his breath before reaching over the fence and unlocking it from the outside.

“Oh...thank you,” Adina said breathlessly as she fell backward into the now-opened gate. His movement had drawn his body closer to hers, his arm directly above her. She had the sudden impression of being enveloped by his presence. The girl looked up past sharp cheekbones into eyes that shimmered with wicked intelligence and secrets. “I can’t be the first person to have a crush on you.”

“Hmph. And you are experienced in such matters?” he drawled sarcastically.

“I...no, you’re the first person I kissed.”

As if suddenly aware of their position, he pulled away and freed her from her confined position. She felt his loss keenly. “My guess that you just had low standards was wrong then.” He slammed the gate closed.

“Hey!” she objected, momentarily offended.

“Little Miss, why would you give me that?” _Why would you pick me_ , she heard clear as day, though he did not say it aloud.

“You don’t like it?” she prodded hesitantly. She was very aware he was a grown man. It was possible he’d been thinking of someone with more experience, who’d be willing to give him more.

“Don’t like—“ he let out a sharp laugh. “Gods, are you fishing for compliments?”

Adina shook her head, now simply confused and embarrassed. “Why do you find it so hard to believe that I just like you?”

“People who flirt with me do so because they want something.” He said it as one would say the sky is blue or snow is cold.

 _Oh, Professor_...her heart filled with empathy for this strange man, though she had the feeling he wouldn’t appreciate the sentiment.

So instead she giggled and joked, “I don’t want anything. I’ve kissed the wrong teacher for that.”

He looked into her eyes then and smirked slowly. “Yes, I suppose you have.”

She knew it was wrong, but _good lord_ she wanted to kiss him again so badly. Adina was embarrassed to admit it, but she really did like his “Dark and Imposing“-ness. And she the fact he was a professor...

“Are you quite sure you’re ‘not kinky?’” he teased huskily, interrupting her thoughts.

Could the man read minds? And Adina had almost forgotten about that comment. How cruel of him to bring it up again.

“Oh, shut up.” _She was sixteen._ She recalled the thought from that day at the bookstore. _She should be allowed to live out some teenage fantasy._

So Adina pulled on his arm and shut him up herself.

This time, the Professor’s lips spent little time in hesitation before moving over hers ardently. Adina allowed him to take control, as she had little idea what she was doing.

She could hardly think as it was. She felt his hands come around her shoulders to grasp her possessively, and suddenly she could think even less.

She stumbled onto his feet desperate to get higher, closer. She leveraged her arms around his neck and pulled up, standing on her toes.

He pulled away and took in a deep breath, like a man drowning. His eyes roved over her with an expression that could be called pain.

His palm came up to cup her cheek, and a thumb brushed her lips. “Unimaginable...the first...?”

Adina gave a small nod, though she imagined his question was rhetorical anyway. He exhaled and closed his eyes.

She darted her tongue out to taste the pad of his thumb, and his eyes shot open. The sunset colored his face with warm hues of red and gold— _colors of passion_ came the inane thought.

Then he placed his lips on her neck, and the thought no more seemed so inane. Adina grabbed his hair, gasping. She had never felt so much in her life. A dark, arrogant chuckle filled her ear before that too was nibbled on.

Adina’s back hit a wall, and she gasped this time in surprise as arms hooked under her legs and lifted her up.

Her dress rode up her legs—(thank God she always wore shorts underneath)—as her limbs settled around the Professor’s hips. She felt the distant alarming thrill of maybe going too far.

She was being entirely supported by him. The Professor had to press close to keep her suspended.

Their lips met once more, and Adina noted it was much easier to kiss like this. She closed her eyes and focused on the returning feeling of his presence enveloping hers.

It wasn’t until he shifted and Adina slid a little down his waist that she felt a telling hardness press against her thigh.

 _Oh my god, is that_ —“Sir!” she squeaked in astonishment.

His eyes lidded, and Adina got the feeling he liked that very much.

 _I’m not the only kinky one, am I, Professor?_ A shivery tingle traveled up and down her body. She reeled in pleasure-pride-disbelief that she had done that to a man.

Adina shook her head. She was getting distracted, _she could still feel him against her_ , she pushed him away.

“Wait, ah, I’m waiting until marriage.”

He dropped her, looking at her incredulously. “Exactly how old are you?”

“I, um, sixteen. A few days ago,” she admitted, still dazed.

“Sixteen?” He exclaimed in evident surprise and dread. “Merlin, I’m fucked.”

Adina blinked. People usually refrained from swearing around her. “I’m not a child,” she protested despite the earlier conversation. “I’ll be going into eleventh grade this fall.”

“Sixth year...” he looked up almost wistfully, murmuring, “You would have been a Hufflepuff.”

“What? Huff—“ Her words were stolen as he kissed her again. Though she noticed he kept his hand demurely at her waist.

But the kiss broke soon again when he abruptly yanked her to his chest and slid down to the ground.

“Hey—“ Adina yelped, startled at the sudden change in mood.

“Shh,” he commanded, muffling her with one hand and performing a strange gesture with the other. Adina strained to listen through her fright.

“...Yeah, he was with some girl, I think.”

“Girl? You know the traitor is a hopeless loner...”

She heard no more of the ominous voices, but an awful suspicion entered her mind. She scrambled backward from him. “Are they looking for you?”

“Yes. Close your eyes.” He had gotten up on one knee, one hand by his pocket.

Adina was sure that was the last thing she should do. “Why are they looking for you?” she asked, increasingly panicked.

He let out a growl, so dissimilar to his pleasured ones earlier. “We don’t have time for this.”

He leapt at her and pinned her to the ground, one arm over her eyes. Adina went perfectly still.

“Please let me go.” she whimpered, voice unnaturally calm. The man muttered words under his breath she was too petrified to focus on. Her traitorous body heated where he pressed against her.

Promptly, the words stopped and the arm left her face. The sight she was met with—hair falling around a face that peered at her beseechingly—took her breath away.

“Stay inside,” he demanded, an urgency to his voice. “Please stay inside. Those men are not safe.”

Adina could escape now, but now she didn’t want to. A peculiar mix of hope and sorrow filled her.

“Who are you?” Adina asked wonderingly.

“ _No_. You must stay away from me. Do not attempt to search for me.”

His eyes were like ice on a highway: black, sharp, and dangerous.

“Who are you?” she repeated.

He leaned down and nuzzled her neck, breathing her in. “Goodbye, Little Miss.”

And suddenly he was off her. It took a while for Adina to process this, and by the time she turned her head, it was just in time to see the man disappear into the evening shadows.

She lay on the ground, staring at the fence dumbly. She noticed raised voices beyond it and wished to inspect their sources, but his words kept her paralyzed on the ground.

“You should be helping us kill Harry Potter,” came an enraged snarl, “not stopping us.”

“Ha,” the Professor’s barked, “The boy is not even in this town. You have, however, managed to fall into my trap quite nicely. _Obliviate_!”

A purple glow effused the air, and Adina’s eyes widened in recognition. _Trap? Harry Potter? Kill?_

Finally, Adina gathered the presence of mind to leap up and wrench open the gate, needing to ask, no, demand for answers—

But he was gone: nowhere in sight. Adina looked left, looked right, then looked up at the thin sliver of light quickly disappearing from the horizon.

And that was the last Adina saw of the Professor for a long time.

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.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

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Severus was not getting better.

It had been two days. Two days he had done his best to neutralize the poison in his veins and staunch the blood flowing through his neck. Two days he had lain around listlessly, hands too shaky to brew and mind too tired to care. He had used up all his pre-made potion, and he had not eaten since Potter (DeadDeadDead) ran him out of the school.

Now, the stars shone brightly in the sky, and Severus was not sure he would make it through the night.

He walked away from the windowsill of Spinners End into the middle of the room and contemplated the floorboards.

Was it even worth living? What use did he have to live for anymore? He had finally served his responsibilities to Potter, Dumbledore, and Lily. In those first few desperate hours after his injury, he had only been running on that primal instinct of self-preservation.

As it became harder to take care of himself, however, Severus began questioning the futility of his actions. Yes, the antivenin and other healing draughts may have given him a chance to survive.

But he still needed to live. He still needed to eat, needed to rest, needed assistance with making his restorative potions.

It galled Severus to admit it, but he needed to be taken care of.

And it was here he was trapped, because the whole wizarding world thought him a murder and traitor.

He _was_ a murderer and traitor. Perhaps his death would be punishment for his sins, and sweet release from his burden of a life.

He snorted. The universe was nowhere that aware. This was just a case of a man who had provoked everyone around him to hate him

_“Why do you find it so hard to believe that I just like you?”_

The memory, old and well-worn, caused Severus to snap his head up.

His mind traveled to images of small hands and heartfelt eyes. She had been...cute. Merlin, she had been cute and innocent and _vulnerable_.

It had drawn Severus dangerously, with his need to protect and impossible desire for that which was untainted—had the girl any idea how alluring she had been to him?

Of course not. He recalled the guileless way the girl had flirted with him, how forthrightly she admitted her crush.

It was not lost on Severus that Little Miss was still the only person he had known whose affection was freely given.

 _She_ might not hate him. Of course, he had not visited the girl again since their dalliance that warm summer so many seasons ago.

Perhaps her opinion of him may have changed through the separation. She may have grown to hate him, the lecherous old man who had taken advantage of a teenage girl. Severus could admit it; he had been selfish and uncontrolled. Maybe she didn’t even remember him.

But if not...maybe he did have something to live for.

It would be a long shot, but Severus was dead already.

He turned where he stood and apparated to the distant picture of a breezy summer beach house.

Severus collapsed against the door, dry heaving. Merlin, he was so _weak_. Mentally too—he had not even considered the possibility of being seen by muggles. His carelessness would end up killing him anyway if the poison didn’t.

But it was hard to think when one was so tired.

He looked up into the rivets of the evergreen wooden door. He hesitated, thinking momentarily of his dignity.

Severus decided dignity could go burn itself in a fiery inferno. He pounded a frantic rhythm on the door.

It opened surprisingly quickly, and Severus had to clutch onto the doorframe to keep from falling.

He gripped it tighter when he was met not with a girl, but a stoic-looking man around his age. Brown skin and greying strands in a head of wavy black hair confirmed who it was.

Another mental lapse; he had not considered being met by the girl’s father.

“Hello? What are you doing here?” questioned the other man in his silence. The father looked Severus’s trembling form up and down once.

“I’ve been poisoned,” Severus said hoarsely, “I need help, your daughter...”

“Our _daughter_? Yes, ah, she’s in med school, I’ll go get her—“ he said dubiously, beginning to close the door.

“Daddy?” came a familiar questioning voice from the stairs. A pause, then the noise of feet smacking against hardwood came closer.

A form ducked through the father’s arm to stare up at Severus. “...Professor?”

She was illuminated by stars and lamplight, and frizzy hair formed a halo around her head. Her father was expressing some sort of surprise that they knew each other, but Severus couldn’t take his gaze off the girl, so changed, yet the same.

Severus had stopped breathing at the long-awaited sight. For her eyes were not filled with hatred, but disbelief...joy.

His doubts were replaced by debilitating relief.

“Little Miss,” Severus greeted. “I am about to collapse.”

This seemed to snap the pair into action, and they quickly lead him to a couch.

“He’s been poisoned, Sugar, I’ll go get Mummy.” The man walked up the stairs.

That left Severus alone with the Little Miss.

They were quiet for the first few moments, an unspoken tension in the air between them. Severus pursued her form standing uncomfortably in front of him. Still not facing him, she spoke first.

"How were you poisoned?"

"Venomous snake bite,” he coughed. “I have managed to neutralize most of it, but..."

"But you need care and time to recover," the girl finished for him.

Severus nodded, grateful he did not need to say it explicitly. They lapsed into silence again, too aware of the other presences in the house. He stared ahead, eyes level with the girl's nervously clenching hand.

A sudden vision of that hand trailing down the buttons on his chest flashed in his mind, and he had to work to keep the color off his face. _Control yourself Severus, her father is not more than a room away._

As if sensing his thoughts, the girl finally turned to consider him. Their eyes met. “I didn’t expect to ever see you again. Somedays, I wondered if you were even real.” And in the statement, there was a question.

Severus kept quiet, calculating how to answer, but he was interrupted.

“So he’s not a professor at your university?” The father questioned, standing in the doorway with his wife. “How do you know this man, Adina?”

“Erm...”

"I should explain," Severus cut in. "Your daughter doesn't know much herself."

“Yes, who are you?” The mother asked, facing Severus directly.

The girl—Adina, _Adina_ —looked up to watch him with inquisitive eyes.

He breathed in, sorting through memories of love, war, death, peace. And thus, he began to answer a question asked eight years ago.

“My name is Severus Snape...”

**Author's Note:**

> If it’s not blatantly obvious, Adina is about the biggest self insert in the history of self inserts. She is essentially me, cropped slightly to the left and Adina’s name hastily scribbled over mine.  
> ...you all know way more about my fantasies than any one person needs to know.  
> Ah, people are hardly going to see this anyway. This fic is mostly a 16th birthday gift to myself.  
> Heh, I just enjoy Severus Snape that much. And if anyone else enjoys Severus Snape through this fic, I’m happy—so leave a comment letting me know. ;)


End file.
